Not That Menacing Anymore

Bobby Deol got his second wind as an actor by playing the mute psychopath Abrar Haque in Animal (2023). He became Bollywood’s go-to bad guy. But now, even that avatar seems to be running out of steam.

Pre-dating Animal, it was Prakash Jha’s Aashram (2020) that marked Bobby’s transition away from a clean-cut hero into a menacing cult leader. Love Hostel (2022) earned him critical praise for his ruthless turn as a cold-blooded killer. The rush to cast him in dark roles post 2023, has, however, proved counterproductive.

Critics argue that movies like Kanguva and Daaku Maharaj in and Alpha (2026) have reduced him to a generic, screaming bad guy. Audiences have noted that his recent antagonistic turns, including as John Himalaya in Jana Nayagan (2026), have suffered from weak writing. His villainy is criticised as being overly mechanical rather than organically threatening.

While the commercial viability of his ‘bad guy’ run remains historically high at the box office, the narrative itself has reached a crossroads, with audiences demanding far more creative depth.